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Rufus Thomas led a storied life. He started in show business in the late 1930s with a traveling minstrel show. By the early ‘50s, he was a renowned DJ on WDIA Memphis and was also recording on Meteor, Chess, and Sun Records.

“Bear Cat” - Sun Records 1953

His daughter, Carla, had one of the first hits on the fledgling Stax Records with “Gee Whiz.” Two years later in 1963, Rufus had a monster crossover hit with “Walking The Dog.” Later he recorded “Jump Back,” which became a R&R standard.

“Walking The Dog”

"Jump Back" (live)

In the late ‘60s, Rufus had many R&B hits and some of the first funk hits.

"Memphis Train"

He also headlined at Wattstax, as shown below. Rufus died at age 84 in 2001.